Windows 7 Tablet: Success Against the iPad

Initial reactions to the iPad earlier this year may have been mixed, but Apple's elegant tablet PC has since caught fire, racking up a devoted following and monster sales.

Between March and June, over 3 million iPads were sold worldwide, and new data from market research firm iSuppli shows that the iPad will dominate the tablet market by almost three to one until 2012.

Meanwhile, all the major computer vendors are working on a tablet. Some are running Google's Android mobile OS; some are running a proprietary OS such as RIM's rumored BlackPad and Hewlett-Packard's planned consumer tablet running WebOS.

And then there's Windows 7. Microsoft's successful client OS is currently running on a few tablet PCs, and according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be on a variety of tablets "over the next several months." Two of the most anticipated Windows 7 tablets scheduled for 2011 are the MSI WindPad and the HP Slate.

But can a Windows 7 tablet really break ground against the mighty iPad? In a recent report titled "The Windows 7 Tablet Imperative", Forrester research analysts J.P. Gownder and Sarah Rotman Epps write that Microsoft can compete with the iPad, but it must make an impact quickly and work with hardware partners to match the iPad on design and price.

In fact, the report states, a successful Windows tablet has become crucial for Microsoft given that "tablets represent the next wave of mass-market consumer computing devices ... demonstrated by the iPad's proficiency in eReading, music and video consumption, and a variety of entertainment-oriented apps."

The main way to a successful Windows 7 tablet, according to Forrester, is through the use of "curated computing", which the research firm defines as "a mode of computing where choice is constrained to deliver less complex, more relevant experiences." In other words, have a simple and streamlined user interface that is easy to navigate.

Curated computing is something the iPad does very well, writes authors Gownder and Epps, and must be embraced by Microsoft if it wants to compete in the tablet space.

Here are Forrester's four keys to a successful Windows 7 tablet.

Enable Curated Computing via a "User Experience Shell"

The worst thing Microsoft can do is to give a Windows 7 tablet the same user interface as a laptop, which is too complex for a tablet, according to the Forrester report. Microsoft and its partners must develop a user experience (UX) shell that simplifies Windows 7 for tablet and touch-screen functionality.

"Windows 7 tablets can only compete if Microsoft embraces Curated Computing by providing a guided experience for users and drawing on the design strengths of other Microsoft products like the Zune HD and the Kin," writes Gownder and Epps, adding that a Microsoft tablet that synchs with the Xbox 360 and enables back-and-forth streaming of videos and games could one-up the iPad.

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Computer Operating System?

Linux, Windows, Sun Solaris and Macintosh are some of the popular computer operating systems. But do you know who have designed their own operating system and use it on their local machines? So, what is all this fuss about computer operating systems and how to decide which one to use? Before we start taking about operating systems for computers, let us try to understand, what a computer operating system is.

A computer operating system is nothing but system software because of which the software and hardware in a computer can communicate with each other. In short, it is what takes life to a computer. Simply it is the computer operating system, on which you run all your applications. If you want to run certain software in your computer, it needs to be compatible with the operating system that is running in your computer. So much for the purpose of creating you aware of what is a computer operating system. Now that you have some good idea about what is a computer operating system, let us try to understand, how different types of operating systems can be used.

Types of Computer Operating System

Computer operating systems can be broadly classified into many categories. One thing kept in mind is that one particular operating system can fall into more than one category. The classification is based on the features that operating systems have.

Multithreading Operating Systems
These are the operating systems that allow to use different types of the same software to run at the same time. Operating systems like Windows XP, 9X, ME, Vista, windows 7 and Linux are examples of this type of operating system.

Multitasking Operating System
If your computer operating system allows you to run more than one application software at the same time, than it can be classified into Multitasking operating system. The same operating systems that have been mentioned above can be classified as examples of this type of operating system.

GUI Operating System
GUI means graphical user interface. This type of operating systems like Windows 98, XP, ME, Vista, 7 and Linux, which allow users to navigate graphic representation of every process or application are classified into this type of operating system.

CUI Operating System
This type of the computer operating systems, where you need to learn the commands for working with that particular operating system . MS DOS is one of the most used operating system. There is a particular command for each process and to bring in variation to the command, you have switches.

Multi-user Operating System
Multi-user operating systems which allow more than one user to log in to the computer system at the same time and use it; it can be classified as multi-user operating system. Linux is the most common example of this type of operating system, which allows six users to login at the same time and user used the this operating system very easily.